Candice Bergen

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, September 29th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the heart of the problem is that the Liberals keep ramming through bills without proper consultation and without letting members of Parliament, who represent these small businesses, be part of the debate. In fact, they rammed through six pieces of legislation, many of which the Prime Minister just talked about, without adequate consultation or debate. Today debate is being shut down again on another piece of legislation that could help Canadians but will probably be very flawed.

Why will the Prime Minister not let us do our job? Why will the Prime Minister not listen to Canadians and do a little consultation before ramming through these pieces of legislation?

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, September 29th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government's disinterest and disdain for small businesses have left many small businesses behind during the pandemic. In fact, billions of dollars have been announced, but still the commercial rent relief program has been massively not used. Why? The Liberals got it wrong because the Prime Minister's top-down “I know best” way is not the right way and does not work.

When will the Prime Minister and the Liberals start listening to the needs of small businesses and adjust this program so that it helps them today?

[Proceedings on the bill entitled An Act relating to certain measures in response to COVID-19, September 29th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I did step out after the votes were completed, but before you announced the results. I defer to your decision regarding the validity of my vote.

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, September 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, six weeks ago when Bill Morneau, the finance minister, resigned, it was clear the Prime Minister was going to do whatever it took to shut down the noise around the WE scandal. He was more concerned about himself and covering his own hide than governing, so he locked up Parliament, wasting precious time that could have been used doing work for Canadians.

Does the Prime Minister not know that his scandals are not going to go away and that by trying to cover them up, he has put his own interests above the interests of Canadians, their lives, their livelihoods and their peace of mind?

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, September 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister always seems to be playing catch-up. Whether it was months ago and the decision around the border, or today, being slow and inept in helping small businesses or getting rapid, safe at-home testing for Canadians, the Liberals are always giving Canadians too little too late. Things are not okay. There are 700 new COVID cases in Ontario alone. Shutting down the economy and going back to the Prime Minister's morning show is not the answer.

When will the Prime Minister see that he is failing on dealing with the COVID crisis and that he is actually leaving millions of Canadians behind?

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, September 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, my first question today is on behalf of that single mom who is standing in line right now, for the second day in a row, waiting to get a COVID test, for that senior widower who is at home alone, scared and isolated, waiting for his result, and for the thousands of Canadians just like them who are scared and worried and do not know if they have COVID.

Very simply, what is the government doing to ensure that Canadians get access to rapid and safe at-home testing?

[Natural Resources, September 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's throne speech was nothing more than an attempt to change the channel on his corrupt government's actions.

The speech was almost 7,000 words long but mentioned Canada's natural resources only once. There was no mention of unionized oil and gas workers in Alberta, no plan for forestry workers in Quebec and B.C., and farmers, all they can expect is more carbon tax.

Why did the Prime Minister knowingly leave millions of Canadians behind?

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, September 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister locked the doors of Parliament to cover up his WE scandal under the guise of a Speech from the Throne that would address the pandemic. However, the throne speech was nothing but a litany of recycled Liberal broken promises that leaves countless numbers of people behind.

This Prime Minister has no plan to deal with the health crisis, no plan to deal with job losses and no plan to address divisions in our country. Why did the Prime Minister waste all of this time just to cover up his scandal, instead of using it to help Canadians?

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, September 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the second wave of the pandemic is here and most Canadians who may come up in a contact tracing list cannot afford to take two or three weeks off to get tested for COVID.

Last March, the Prime Minister promised that rapid COVID testing for Canadians would be a top priority. Half a year and half a trillion dollars later, Canadian families still have to wait in line for hours, and sometimes days, to get tested.

Why is the Prime Minister failing Canadians on this vital test during the pandemic?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, September 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague, as I come from an agricultural riding in Manitoba. I have been so disappointed, as have all of us on this side, by the lack of value, attention and credit given to our agricultural sector in Canada. This includes those who are part of the supply management system, but also livestock producers and grain producers. Every sector of the agricultural industry in Canada has been ignored and disrespected. People have pretended that the sector does not exist and what it contributes does not exist. The Speech from the Throne is another example of that.

We have to continue to advocate for farmers. The Liberals seem not to have set foot on a farm in many years, and I would invite some of them to visit some rural areas. I know they do not represent those areas, but they need to understand the sacrifices our farmers make in producing food not only for Canada, but for the world, and they do it in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. They should be congratulated, rewarded and supported instead of ignored.